Field of the Disclosure
The present subject matter relates to radio frequency identification (“RFID”) devices. More particularly, the present subject matter relates to infrastructure-mounted RFID tags for commercial and/or industrial installations, such as inventory, security, processing and production applications.
Description of Related Art
It is known to employ RFID technology in an area (e.g., a store or other retail environment) for various purposes. In one example, an RFID reader is associated with a point-of-sale location or check-out counter of a store and detects a tag associated with an item being purchased to register the price of the item. In another example, an RFID-readable tag or transponder is attached to each piece of merchandise in a store or storage area. The tags are scanned using an RFID reader to keep proper count of the product inventory. In yet another example, RFID technology is used as a security measure. In a typical RFID-based security system for a store, one or more RFID readers are installed adjacent to an exit, while guard tags are associated with (often by means of a hangtag or label) individual items sold in the store. When a customer purchases an item, the cashier will either remove or otherwise deactivate the guard tag associated therewith. If the guard tag has not been removed or deactivated (e.g., if a customer attempts to remove the item from the store without paying for it), the RFID reader or readers in the read field will sense the guard tag as the customer is exiting the store. Upon sensing the guard tag, the read field causes an alarm or other alert to trigger, thereby alerting store personnel to possible theft of the item.
Although the above-described systems are widespread, there are certain disadvantages. For example, when metal is placed in range of the RFID reader, it may act as a secondary radiator, causing unwanted detection events. Other common objects, such as liquids, animals or humans, can also perturb the read field.
Additionally, while it is known to use infrastructure-mounted RFID technology for various applications, the potential of infrastructure-mounted RFID technology has not yet been fully realized and there are still numerous applications and settings in which they might be advantageously employed but which have not yet been accomplished successfully.